“They’re self-centered assholes and they missed the big picture,” he continued. “They missed that a 7-year-old kid can see someone close to their age singing a Kings of Leon song, which will maybe make them want to join a glee club or pick up a musical instrument. It’s like, OK, hate on arts education. You can make fun of Glee all you want, but at its heart, what we really do is turn kids on to music.”

Frontman Caleb Followill’s response? “This whole Glee thing is a shock to us,” he told The Reporter. “It’s gotten out of hand. At the time of the request, we hadn’t even seen the show. It came at the end of that record cycle, and we were over promoting [“Use Somebody”]. This was never meant as a slap in the face to Glee or to music education or to fans of the show. We’re not sure where the anger is coming from.”

Wherever it is, Murphy has more of it. In reference to Slash, who, when asked about a potential Guns ‘n’ Roses episode, recently told EW that Glee makes Grease look like “a brilliant work of art,” Murphy countered: “Usually I find that people who make those comments, their careers are over; they’re uneducated and quite stupid.”

Stick that in your tophat and smoke it, Mr. Slash! And you, Kings of Leon, stick it in your … shampoo? I don’t know. Either way, you’re all off Ryan Murphy’s Secret Santa list this year.

UPDATE: Following the story’s publication, KoL drummer Nathan Followill tweeted the following: Dear Ryan Murphy, let it go. See a therapist, get a manicure, buy a new bra. Zip your lip and focus on educating 7yr olds how to say f—.”